Bhai Kahn Singh of
Nabha was, indeed, one of the towering intellects of the 19th century,
whose writings and actions left a deep impact on the region and the
religion he belonged to. Roopinder Singh
pays a tribute

HE
did not go to any school or college, but was well-versed in various
Indian languages, including Hindi, Braj Bhasha, Sanskrit, Urdu,
Persian, English and of course, Punjabi. He was seeped in the Sikh
lore and wrote the first definitive encyclopaedia in Punjabi, the Gurshabad
Ratnakar Mahankosh, one of the earliest works of its kind.

Bhai Kahn Singh of
Nabha was, indeed, one of the towering intellects of the 19th century,
whose writings and actions left a deep impact on the region and the
religion he belonged to. His imprint is to be seen in the literature
he produced, as well as the actions of his student, Maharaja Ripudaman
Singh of Nabha, who lead the reform movement among the Sikhs,
sponsored the Anand Marriage Act and steered the legislation for the
management of the Sikh Gurdwaras, which eventually lead to the
formation of the SGPC.

Baba Narayan Singh,
Bhai Kahn Singh’s father, was a landowner and a deeply religious
man. Bhai Kahn Singh studied at home and then went to Delhi and to
Lahore in 1883. Upon his return to Nabha, he served the Nabha State
and in 1887 was appointed tutor to Tikka Ripudaman Singh, the heir
apparent. Bhai Kahn Singh was given several administrative and
judicial positions, such as the Maharaja's private secretary and a
judge of the High Court. He also, served briefly in Patiala. He
travelled to England thrice (in 1907, 1908 and 1909) to supervise
legal matters for the Nabha State. Eventually, he resigned and devoted
most of his time to writing.

Bhai Kahn Singh was
also a good shot, and knew how to wield arms, having learnt the art
from Nihangs. He was also a student of music, under the tutelage of
Mahant Gajja Singh, a famous musician. He played the sitar and
the dilruba. His granddaughter, Hardarshan Kaur, describes him
as "always immaculately dressed to suit the occasion, a very
integrated personality. He spoke softly in a well-measured tone and
invariably gave full consideration and respect to the views of
others."

A typical day in his
life started very early, when, after prayers, he went for a long walk.
After breakfast he would work till noon. A short siesta, and he worked
again until late afternoon, then attending to visitors from various
walks of life.

He spent 14 long
years writing the Mahan Kosh which is a clear, succinct and
wonderful exposition of the history, religion, culture and literature
of the Punjab and the Sikhs. This reference book was published through
the patronage of the Maharaja Bhupendra Singh of Patiala and is a
standard reference text, still in print. It is considered an authentic
interpretation of Sikh ethos.

An important facet of
Bhai Kahn Singh’s life is his association with Max Arthur Macauliffe,
who he met by fortuitous chance in 1885 in Rawalpindi. Bhai Kahn Singh
explained the Guru Granth Sahib to the Englishman and also helped him
with the research of his work, The Sikh Religion, which was
published in six volumes by the prestigious Clarendon Press, an
imprint of Oxford Press, in UK in 1907. Bhai Kahn Singh contributed to
the book in various ways, and even accompanied Macauliffe to England.
The author later transferred the copyright of his book to Bhai Kahn
Singh.

Overall, the social
situation in Punjab at that time was one in which excesses of the
ruling classes had lead to decay in moral values. He and other
reformers sought to reaffirm the uniqueness of the Sikh thought and it
was in this spirit that Ham Hindu Nahin, a short booklet, was
written in 1898. The title was provocative and it brought about quite
a reaction, so much so that Bhai Kahn Singh eventually submitted a
translation of the book in English to the British officials to clear
the air.

Bhai Kahn Singh
practiced what he preached. He advocated inter-caste marriages and his
son’s marriage was such. His niece, a widow, was remarried, in
accordance with his wishes. Overall, he lived the life of an erudite
country squire. He lived in Nabha, where his great-grandson, Major A P
Singh, resides now. He would retire to the hills of Solan and Simla in
summers, and was also known as a good tennis player. He contributed
financially and otherwise to the Khalsa College, Amritsar, and
presided over the Sikh Educational Conference in 1931, a singular
honour. In 1932, the British government gave him the title of Sardar
Bahadur. In 1933, he was presented a sword by King Nadir Shah of
Afghanistan, where he had gone for research.

Bhai Kahn Singh passed
away on November 23, 1938, leving behind a rich legacy. Many
generations have passed, but this extraordinary scholar still lives
through his works.